Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) chairman, Eng. Mustafa Sanalla, has called for a programme of economic transformation alongside the political process to solve protracted competition over Libya’s oil wealth.
Speaking at the Atlantic Council, an internationally-renowned think tank, on 18 October, the NOC chairman presented a series of technocratic policy responses. His speech covered heightened fiscal transparency initiatives and subsidy reform, restructuring the Petroleum Facilities Guard and launching a fund for oil-hosting communities.
“Almost every Libyan has a strong shared interest in NOC succeeding,” Sanalla said. “Not only are the Libyan people the effective shareholders of NOC, but we all depend on NOC. With the right conditions, NOC has the potential to prosper.”
He also warned of the risks attached to oil overshadowing other sectors of the economy. “Oil cannot be the only game in town. We need to take our fate into our own hands and develop our own strategy for national recovery.
“Our young people need to develop a sense of initiative and self-reliance. Our institutions need to create opportunity. And the relevant ministries have an absolutely crucial role to play in ensuring that our people are able to acquire useful skills, and that regulatory impediments to establishing private sector businesses are removed.”
